


A Discussion Of Values

by Benfrosh



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: (i love walhart don't judge me), Gen, ah yes military doctrine and theory, the hot content everyone comes to ao3 for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7697293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin and Walhart have a nice, long, friendly chat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Discussion Of Values

Robin waddled his way through the camp, buried in a mountain of books. His arms slightly shook under the load, and he really started to think he should have done two runs. Unfortunately, it was far too late for him to back out, so he persevered and pushed forward, desperate to reach his tent before he collapsed and perished in a crushing pile of books. An ignoble end, to be sure.

Thankfully, before long he reached his tent and quickly dived in, ready to drop his load on his bed and sort it out, when-

"Who dares enter my residence unannounced? Identify yourself now, before I strike you down where you stand."

Oh no, Robin thought to himself. Why'd it have to be Walhart's tent? "Nope, sorry, wrong tent, I'm nobody to worry about, I'll be on my way," Robin quickly mumbled as he tried to backpedal quickly yet carefully out of the tent. But it was too late, as Walhart reached out and clasped his iron grip on Robin's arm. Robin steeled himself for his demise.

"Just the man I was looking for! Set your books down, there were topics I wished to discuss with you," Walhart declared, his voice firm and steady and booming in the small tent. (Or at least, as small as every room with Walhart in it felt.)

Robin carefully weighed his options. If he ran, he'd definitely die. If he stayed, the odds were probably in his favor. "Sure thing, Walhart. Is anywhere okay?" he asked daintily.

"One place is the same as the other. Come and pull up a chair when you are finished." Walhart released his grip and walked away, and Robin held in a sigh of relief as he went inside and gently placed the books on Walhart's incredibly spartan bed.

Having finally freed himself from the obstacle blocking his vision, Robin turned to find Walhart out of his armor (a rare sight, to be sure), his long white hair tied in a ponytail behind him, sitting at a desk with what appeared to be... pen and paper? "Walhart, are you writing something?" Robin asked as he pulled up a chair by Walhart's desk as instructed. "I didn't expect you to be much of the writing type, more of the 'authors are weak and know not how to use a sword' type. No offense," he hastily added.

Walhart laughed a deep, hearty, (terrifying) laugh. "None taken, tactician. I know the image I project, but physical might is not the only weapon I possess. A keen intellect is a blade as sharp as any other, and a battle won in the mind is worth a hundred on the battlefield. Writing is but one of many ways to practice that."

Robin paused. Well, their talks had been friendly before when talking about tactics. "Not gonna lie, Walhart, I have a bit of a hard time believing that when I saw your military strategies. No cohesion of units, solo charges, poor tactics - those don't sound like someone who believes in the strength of the mind."

Walhart nodded solemly. "Indeed, and that was one of my many failures that I now realize. My generals failed to recognize the ideals I pushed, and I failed to notice corruption had set in amongst my ranks, and with corruption comes weakness. But the doctrine!" he shouted as he slammed his fist on the desk causing Robin to jump, "the doctrine was sound!"

"What doctrine was that? What would your army have been like if you had executed it perfectly?"

Walhart rubbed his chin in thought. "Consider a long piece of chain. If you wish to break it, you must only find the weakest link and strike it down, and the whole chain falls limp, yes?"

Robin nodded. "Basic penetration tactics. Find a hole in the formation, break through it, and encircle the opposition before they can react."

"Your ideology prevents this by forming a strong, cohesive whole. You reinforce every part of the chain, and make sure that the weakest part is stronger than any force the enemy can exert."

Robin nodded. Sure, that's totally what I do, he thought to himself.

"My doctrine is focused on a heavy offense lead by my armored cavalry, especially myself. I break the chain before they even approach my lines, and thus shattered no enemy can muster a counter offensive to possibly threaten my lines. When it succeeds, it succeeds completely and utterly."

"But, if the offensive force isn't strong enough, or they hold back to protect themselves and lets the infantry make the charge..."

Walhart sighed. "Defeat. This is where my generals failed - none of them had the courage and spirit I had, to lead the charges I could. And it is my failure that I did not imbue that in them."

Robin paused in thought. "Can such a strategy work on a large scale? If it's so reliant on the quality of the generals and the elite forces leading the charge, it seems like it would be fundamentally flawed for an empire."

Walhart tilted his head in confusion (a **very** rare sight! Robin memorized it to treasure for ages). "I'm afraid I don't see what you mean. Clearly it worked, did it not? I forged my empire with those very selfsame tactics."

"Well, that's just it, isn't it? _You_ forged the empire. Until you declared war on us, you lead all your battles yourself, no?"

Walhart mused. "Indeed I did. Are you saying that such a strategy was doomed to failure as soon as I handed control over to those not equally trained in such doctrines?"

"Yeah, that's it exactly. There are doctrines that translate very well from the book to the field, even if they aren't very effective, and you can train everyone in them even without much practical experience. Alternatively, there are doctrines like those that I use that exercise the entire army, and even if they aren't overpowering on the offensive they ensure stability and consistency across the whole army. Even if it's not best case as good as yours, the worst case is far superior, and in war the worst case always happens."

Walhart burst out into laughter. "By the gods, you are far better than I anticipated! I had thought you a mewling kitten, but I see that your fangs are as sharp as a lion's!" 

Robin nervously laughed along. "Thanks?"

Walhart took a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you, Robin. That is all I needed."

"Really? That's all?" Am I really free, Robin stopped himself from asking.

"That is all. I am writing my memoirs, and I wished to hear from you about my flaws, because I judged that none could know them as well as you do. I see I was right."

"Well... glad to help, I guess." Robin smiled. "Once you're done, do you mind if I read them?"

"Mind? Tactician, I will force you to. If I am to serve you, I demand you to excel at least as much as I ever have."

Robin sighed. "Well, thank you, I guess."


End file.
